The U.S. government unveiled a new strategy for the Arctic on Friday, which incorporates the growing consequences of global warming and predicts intensification of international competition in the region.
Global warming is melting sea ice, opening up areas previously closed to shipping and offering new opportunities for countries like the United States, Russia and China to compete for resources and influence in the area.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has the largest Arctic coast in the world, has raised tensions between Washington and Moscow. unprecedented levels since the Cold War.
“The Arctic, home to four million people, has important natural resources and unique ecosystems and is undergoing a phenomenal transformation,” states this new US strategy.
“Under the influence of climate change, this transformation will challenge life in the Arctic, create new economic opportunities and could intensify strategic competition between countries,” the document adds.
The program
The new strategy includes four main areas: security, climate change and environmental protection, sustainable economic development and international cooperation.
“Our first priority is to protect the American people, as well as our territory and our sovereign rights,” he says.
“We are determined to ensure the security of our allies and support our partners in the region,” he adds, as Sweden and Finland, two major Arctic countries, prepare to join NATO.
To this end, Washington “will strengthen its military and civilian capabilities in the Arctic to deter threats and anticipate, prevent and respond to man-made incidents.
Global warming
Faced with the growing impact of global warming, Washington wants to help Alaska – its northernmost state – strengthen its resilience and adaptation, and also intends to pursue international initiatives aimed at reduce emissions In the Arctic.
On the economic front, the US wants to identify ways to increase growth in the region “and improve livelihoods in Alaska, especially for indigenous communities,” a senior US official said before the document was released.
“The strategy presents the American vision of a peaceful, stable, prosperous and cooperative Arctic,” he added.
“Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine made this Arctic cooperation almost impossible” with Moscow, states the US strategy. But “maintaining cooperation with our allies and partners in the short term remains essential to furthering our interests in the region”.
The latest document detailing the US Arctic strategy dates back to nearly 10 years ago.
“This strategy takes into account the climate crisis with a greater sense of urgency, given the developments over the past eight or nine years,” the official said.
It also “recognizes the strategic competition that has been unleashed in the Arctic with Russia and China over the past 10 years”. The document further stresses that this new program “strives to enable the United States to compete effectively while managing tensions.”
Source: AFP
CB
Source: Clarin
